


Mandalorians

by EffieAgo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Gen, Mando dad, POV Outsider, Semi-Accidental Baby Acquisition, Single Parents, Single dad Mandalorian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 05:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21441226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EffieAgo/pseuds/EffieAgo
Summary: A Mandalorian and a baby walk into a bar...
Relationships: The Mandalorian & The Asset
Comments: 108
Kudos: 2062





	Mandalorians

**Author's Note:**

> Me: has a lot to do
> 
> Also me: writes a Mandalorian oneshot 
> 
> I haven't seen the second episode yet, so this is just pure speculation and wishful thinking

Thiriq had been a bartender for most of her eighty-six years and she’d seen plenty in that time. Her species lived a good thirty to forty years longer than humans, so that put her squarely in middle age. From behind the counter in her roomy space port bar, she’d survived two major galaxy-wide wars and numerous other smaller catastrophes. Her job also meant she’d been exposed to countless species and cultures and seen their various manners and quirks up close. 

The last few decades had brought plenty of changes in her clientele, and the most irritating change was a sudden influx in Mandalorians. Humans as a whole were bad enough. A messy, troublesome race who thought that originating near the Core somehow made them special. But Mandalorians? They were the worst of that lot. Sure, Thiriq knew that they’d had their own share of upheaval in addition to the galaxy-wide conflicts, but so had plenty of other planets and systems! That was no excuse! And now the Galactic Civil War was over and there was a New Republic that was supposedly going to bring order and civilization even out to her corner of the Outer Rim, but the Mandalorians kept coming. Sometimes they came in groups, sometimes individually, with their helmets and their precious armor and their silly-looking weapons. They tended to be mercenaries, bounty hunters, smugglers, and pretty much any other violent and disreputable profession you could think of. They would come and drink and wreak havoc in her bar and the amount they paid for alcohol almost never made up for the chaos that inevitably ensued. Sometimes, rarely (but not rarely enough), they even brought their children. Now, human children might seem less dangerous than some other species’ offspring as they generally lack claws and poison-producing fangs, but when it came to Mandalorian kids, Thiriq could say from experience that they could inflict a considerable amount of damage without any extra help.The ones who were old enough to walk wore helmets of their own and Thiriq had seen them start fights and hustle unsuspecting spacers at cards with as much enthusiasm as their parents. Not to mention that most of them didn’t seem to know that jetpacks aren’t meant to be used _inside_. It was a fact, Mandalorians were trouble at any age.

So, it was with annoyed resignation that Thiriq took in her newest customer as he strode through the door with that trademark arrogance that most of them had, as if they were royalty and not refugees like pretty much everyone who ended up in this shitty neighborhood on this cesspit of a moon. He was alone and carrying nothing but his weapons and a small bundle. _Bounty hunter_, she guessed. It was something about his bearing combined with his chosen weapons. She was pretty good at guessing after so many years. Well, at least it wasn’t the evening rush yet, so hopefully he would find his quarry and depart with a minimal amount of destruction. 

The Mandalorian, however, did not go around eyeing her other patrons looking for his target, as she’d expected. He instead walked right up to the bar, and in one fluid movement, he produced a datapad from his bundle and handed it her. “Do you have any of these?” 

She blinked at the list of nonalcoholic plant-based beverages. They were not the kind of thing his sort typically wanted. “Um. I have amironut milk, and I usually have jemsim root juice too, but I think I’m currently out. I can check, though if-”

He shook his head. “Amironut is fine.”

“All right. What do you want it mixed with? Whiskey? Or I have some Kowakian rum that would probably be good.”

“No, I want it straight. Can you warm it up? Not too hot, though. It needs to be, like, luke-warm.”

Just when she thought this guy couldn’t get any weirder. “Sure, but-” Whatever she was going to say was forever cut off when the Mandalorian sat his bundle down on the bar and it... squirmed. Some type of animal? But no. The man carefully pealed the blanket back to reveal an unknown kind of alien baby. Green, with giant ears. It was, she couldn’t help thinking, surprisingly adorable. She supposed it was a bounty he was bringing in or something he was selling to the highest bidder.

“The milk?” The Mandalorian asked. 

“Uh, right. Just give me a moment.” 

Thiriq heated the milk so it was just slightly warm and poured it into a sturdy, unbreakable cup which she then sat in front of her oddest costumers of the day so far. She watched with fascination as the helmeted man fed a couple sips to the infant who drank the liquid eagerly. Then a group of Niktos at a nearby table stood up as if to leave, and the Mando abruptly straightened up.

“Watch them for a few minutes,” he said as he gently pushed the baby toward her.

“Wait, what?” But the bounty hunter had already turned away from her. She heard his confrontation with the Niktos, the shouts and the blaster shots, but she couldn’t bring herself to pay much attention to what was going on because the little creature reached out to her with its tiny little hands and suddenly that was all she cared about. She gave it a little more milk and watched as it gurgled happily. She tried not to think about what would happen to the baby when its captor delivered it to whichever client was paying him.

Just as suddenly, the Mandalorian returned, though he was dragging a (dead? unconscious?) Nikto behind him. “Thanks.” He slid some credits toward her and moved to take back his small charge. He unwrapped the creature and began fiddling with the harness it wore over its clothes. It was meant to be worn as a baby carrier, she realized with a considerable amount of confusion. He attached it to his chest and waist, secured it with buckles and then wrapped the blanket around the tiny body as well as he could. The whole scene was absolutely absurd. 

“Wait- just,” she began, not sure exactly what she wanted to ask. “What planet-? What species or people? I mean, what even is-”

The bounty hunter paused, and the force of his gaze was enough to stop her mid-sentence even though she couldn’t so much as see his eyes. Then slowly he reached down and grabbed the collar of his Nikto bounty. “Mandalorian,” he answered, finally.

Well, he may be skilled, but he wasn’t exactly quick on the uptake, was he? As if anyone would ever mistake him for anything other than a Mando. “No, not _you_. I meant-”

He turned just enough to grab the baby’s cup off the bar with his free hand. “Sorry, but I’ll be taking this.” And with that, the bounty hunter left. The few remaining customers quickly moved to clear a path to the door for him.

Thiriq stared after him for a few moments before shaking her head and getting back to work. _Kriffing Mandalorians_. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware that Mandalorians don't necessarily have to be human, but this rather bigoted bartender doesn't know that ;)


End file.
